So everything was fine up until a few days ago when I noticed I was having a bit of a problem climbing RPMs when I got on the highway. My initial thought was that my fuel filter was plugged up so I changed it out and that didn’t fix it. I thought maybe because I ran an octane booster in it with supreme fuel that it may have just been running too rich. But it won’t stay running at idle. If I give it gas it will stay running but as soon as I let off it dies out and won’t stay running on its own. I figured it’s cause it was rich fuel so I added regular unleaded to bring the octane down but nothing changed. I then got curious and did a compression test and sure enough the left bank only holds 60lbs. (1&2) cylinders. Cylinder 3&4 hold 115 lbs. does this mean that the engine blew or a gasket blew? Do I need to get a new motor? Any and all input would be greatly appreciated guys thanks!

Tough to call but based on symptoms of both 1&2 being so low. I'd guess you've lost torque on the cylinder head studs. Is there any excessive oil under the engine on the #1/#2 side?

I had a similar thing happen on a Type 1 VW bug engine long ago.

Have a leakdown test done or buy a leakdown gauge (~$100). With a leak down test you'll be able to tell where the leakage is.

Typically goes to 1 of 3 places. In your case you may have a #4.

1) Into the intake
2) Into the exhuast
3) Into the case

4) In your case, it may exit the cylinder between the head and the cylinder.

Plan on dropping the engine to fix any of the possible root causes.

I don’t have any noticeable amount of oil leaking. It’s hard to tell from underneath cause I can only see so much of the heads. And on top the cover is there. Also it’s been backfiring a lot more than normal. It’s always had a little backfire but I was sure it was just a leaky exhaust manifold.

I agree with superhawk. I'd suspect something with the sealing of the head-cylinder or cylinder-case and an engine drop is in your future. Not a big deal. There's a link to a how to video in my sig. Good luck and post back what you find....

check the valve lash,, are your wheels revolutions ? have a pic of the side 914..

Probably still running head gaskets and they have blown out due to the head becoming loose,seen that before,my mate had a 2.0L bus in his shop and the gaskets were gone on one head,there was a large piece of the head blown out on one cylinder.
Disconnect the coil and get someone to crank the engine so you can listen for "chuffing'' noises under that side of the engine,you could remove the rocker cover and check the head torque also before you pull the engine.
No you don't really need a new engine but you may need to carry out a top overhaul to sort your issue,good luck.

hopefully your engine prob. is not that bad.

Nice! I like them in black too. Hopefully it’s not too big a deal. Gonna take off the cover and check for torque on the heads.

Good Luck...I like my silver ones too